National PTA Announces Participants in the “Fourth Wave” of its Common Core State Standards Initiative

ALEXANDRIA, VA (July 23, 2013)—National PTA has selected Indiana PTA, Kansas PTA and Michigan PTA to take part in the fourth wave of its Common Core State Standards Initiative aimed at increasing awareness and understating of the historic reform that is set to take place in schools across the country.

Since beginning its work on the Common Core in 2009, National PTA and its hard-working volunteers nationwide have educated more than 2.8 million people electronically or in print, and trained more than 50,000 PTA members to teach and lead advocacy efforts for Common Core.

“We applaud Indiana, Kansas, and Michigan for joining the ranks of states that are committed to this historic reform. Our PTA volunteers will continue to bring their communities together, comprised of teachers, parents, educators, and community leaders on the Common Core Standards,” National PTA President Otha Thornton said. “Our children deserve to meet and exceed high standards, and these rigorous benchmarks empower parents to improve their local schools and find the best education fit for their child.”

The Common Core Standards provide clear and attainable benchmarks for mathematics and English language arts for all K-12 students in more than 45 states and localities. Through the initiative, volunteer leaders in the National PTA’s fourth wave of states will work toward:

Increasing awareness and understating of CCSS via:

Parent, teacher and community education

Media and social media

Meetings with community groups

Meetings with decision makers

Member communications

Educating, impacting and improving the implementation and assessment processes by:

Training a cadre of parent advocates who can impact the rollout of CCSS

Creating custom, state-by-state assessment and accountability guides

A key resource in the National PTA’s awareness and education campaign has been its Parent’s Guide to Student Success, which has been used nationwide by community partners, education leaders, school districts, and state departments of education.

For more information on National PTA's efforts on the Common Core, visit PTA.org/CommonCore.

About National PTA

National PTA® comprises millions of families, students, teachers, administrators, and business and community leaders devoted to the educational success of children and the promotion of parent involvement in schools. PTA is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit association that prides itself on being a powerful voice for all children, a relevant resource for families and communities, and a strong advocate for public education. Membership in PTA is open to anyone who wants to be involved and make a difference for the education, health, and welfare of children and youth. Learn more at PTA.org.